Disclaimer: I don't own Jem or any character from the series.
Second Disclaimer: This fic is based on a story titled 'Eric Benton?', written by Lady Brenlis.
The Truth Comes Out
Jerrica, Kimber and the Starlight girls were working on their first song when they got a phone call. "Benton residence. Jerrica speaking." She then heard something from the other side. "Oh, how may I help you?" She then heard a reply. "Yes, that had me confused." She then heard more. "You want Kimber and me to go to your office to get a letter explaining it all? Why didn't you hand it back then?" She then heard the answer. "Oh, Dad wanted nobody aside from my sister and me to be there when you did it. I got it." She then heard more. "We can go there this afternoon. Goodbye."
"Who was at the phone, Jerrica?" Kimber asked.
"Dad's lawyer." Jerrica explained. "He said Dad left a letter explaining why he left half of Starlight Music to Eric Raymond and left instructions that nobody except for the two of us were around when the lawyer delivered us the letter."
"Can we get it, sis?" Kimber eagerly asked. The Benton sisters then went to the lawyer's office, where they read the letter.
Dear Daughters,
I'm sorry if I haven't told you this when I was alive, but your mother wasn't the first woman I married. Back on my youth days, when I was too immature, I married High School sweetheart Arica Raymond. When Arica and I divorced, I wrongly believed, to my horror, that she aborted. When Eric Raymond came to work for me, I dismissed his surname as a mere coincidence, but I eventually suspected something and told him he looked familiar. He told me people used to say he looks like his mother and that her name was Arica. Shocked, I asked him if it was 'Arica' with an 'A' or 'Erica' with an 'E'. When he confirmed it, we talked and I found out Eric grew up without knowing who his father was until she told him under the condition he promised not to contact me for as long as she lived. Believing the lies she told him about me, he wouldn't tell me he's my son until I approached him. I'd have told you both as soon as I found out but he asked me to wait until he was ready to get used to the fact he has sisters. I'm sorry for the shock it caused you both.
Cordially,
Emmett Benton
"This can't be!" Jerrica exclaimed. "I demand a blood test!"
"Unfortunately they tend to be inconclusive regarding half-siblings, Ms. Jerrica." The lawyer explained. "So, unless you have a sample of your father's blood, there's nothing you can do."
"Didn't Dad demand a blood test himself?" Jerrica asked.
"No." The lawyer answered. Enraged, Jerrica rushed into Eric Raymond's office.
"May I help you, Jerrica?" Eric asked.
"How did you trick my Dad into believing he was yours as well?" Jerrica angrily asked.
Eric's anger increased at unexpected levels. "NOT ONLY YOU BROKE YOUR PROMISE OF KEEPING ME INFORMED OF CHANGES ON FATHER'S HEALTH WHEN YOU DENIED ME MY PLACE AT HIS DEATH BED!" He then calmed down a little. "And to think I considered putting aside my hostility towards you. Once I was informed I inherited fifty percent of Starlight Music, I promised to make it into the most successful music company on the west coast so he'd be proud of me."
"He'd never approve your methods, Eric." Jerrica replied, thinking at the rigged contest he's using to promote the Misfits.
"That's possible." Eric admitted. "Then again, he never had too much training in business or music for someone who did remarkably well on a music company."
"Mark my words, Eric Raymond." Jerrica demanded. "I'll never allow you to stain Starlight Music's good name."
"We'll see about that." Eric replied.
The End
Sorry if the characters didn't seem to be in character. It's been a long time ever since I watched the series and, when I watched it, it was dubbed into my language (I'm Brazilian). In case anyone is wondering how I know that much about testing the relation between half-siblings, I learned it from a Boston Legal episode.